‘Help us to help you’ request for information to shape NFUS lobbying priorities for year ahead.
NFU Scotland is delivering a ‘help us to help you’ message to farmers and crofters by encouraging them to participate in the Union’s 2024 Business Intentions Survey.
Last year, more than 550 responses from all sectors were received, painting an accurate picture of what business changes were planned after a turbulent few years affected by the pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine and historically high input prices.
NFU Scotland wants to build on that evidential database with a fresh survey, closing on 15 January 2024, to help drive its lobbying effort to secure a profitable farming and crofting industry in the years ahead.
In announcing the survey, Head of Policy Team Gemma Cooper said: “Our focus is to ensure that farming and crofting businesses are profitable and sustainable, and a solid, robust evidence base is vital when we are speaking to policymakers and parliamentarians.
“We know that members are concerned about many things, including the direction of future support, spiralling costs of inputs and negative perceptions of what we do. We also know that our fantastic industry is full of innovation, change-making and forward-thinking food producers.
“Our network of local branches, regions and national committees is a fantastic route for information flow, but being able to supplement this with data from the survey is invaluable. This input helps us tell the story of how things are on the ground for farmers and crofters.
“We know that policy is a key lever for business decisions and behavioural change, and we need to understand this first-hand to help us be credible.
“We are the largest agricultural organisation in Scotland, and farmers and crofters drive how successful we are in making an impact on their behalf. So, my message to farmers and crofters is: ‘Help us help you,’ and I urge them all to complete the 2024 Business Intentions Survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BQTM2XK .”
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Contact Bob Carruth on 0131 472 4006